Former Browns quarterback Gary Danielson believes as many as four franchise quarterbacks should be available in the 2011 draft, and the Browns would be wise not to pass them up.
View full sizeFormer NFL quarterback Gary Danielson believes Stanford sophomore Andrew Luck is the clear-cut top quarterback in next spring's draft -- if the Stanford star elects to leave school.THE KICKOFF
I can’t think of a Browns quarterback before Colt McCoy who was forced to make his NFL debut against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
It’s a daunting assignment. But former Browns quarterback Gary Danielson views it from a different perspective.
“The nice thing about it is the expectations are so low that if he just survives this, I think his confidence and the team’s confidence will soar around him,“ Danielson said.
“And if they manage him well, as a long-range project, this could be a blessing in disguise.“
How so?
“It’s better than starting against Buffalo, where everybody expects you to do well, and then you don’t. So if you look at it from the other end, it can be a real plus for Colt. You want to show you can swim in the deep end.“
With the sharks circling.
NORTH NUGGETS
The Ravens hope to have Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed back at practice next week. Reed was placed on the physically unable to perform list because of hip surgery in the off-season. Once Reed starts practicing, the Ravens have a three-week window to determine Reed’s status for the season. Obviously, a healthy Reed would improve their Super Bowl chances. ... When the Bengals public address announcer pointed out Carson Palmer surpassed 20,000 passing yards in his career, fans booed. The struggling Bengals quarterback threw his second interception a series earlier in a 24-21 loss to Tampa Bay. ... Steelers kicker Jeff Reed, who missed two field goals in the team’s loss to Baltimore and four of seven overall in Heinz Field this season, said he caught heat from fans while attending a Pittsburgh Penguins game. ... The Steelers admitted they spent a great deal of time preparing for Josh Cribbs in a wildcat role this week. Cribbs’ 37-yard run in the Dec. 10 Browns’ win was the longest allowed by the Steelers last season.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Under defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, the Kansas City Chiefs have held all four opponents, including Indianapolis, under 20 points and rank third in permitting 14.3 points per game.
-- Tony Grossi
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Colt McCoy takes the field Sunday in Pittsburgh and becomes the 16th player to make a start at quarterback for the Browns since 1999. The search goes on for No. 17.
Gary Danielson, the former Browns QB and current No. 1 college football analyst at CBS, subscribes to the theory that the Browns -- or any NFL team -- can not win until they nail down a franchise quarterback.
It was Danielson, then with ESPN, who touted Donovan McNabb as the best of the QB bunch in 1999 when the Browns made Tim Couch the No. 1 overall pick.
In a telephone conversation, Danielson talked about the sport's most important position, said three QBs in college today are "sure-fire top ten picks," and made some observations about McCoy.
• On the No. 1 attribute a quarterback needs to succeed:
"If you talk to 10 quarterback experts, they'll give you 10 different attributes of what a quarterback has to have to be successful, and they're all right. The interesting thing to me is that if you have one attribute that is so good, so highly refined, you can survive by being extremely good at one thing. Bernie [Kosar] had that great touch and his leadership and he survived without having great feet. Drew Brees survived with amazing accuracy. There's different ways to be successful.
"But to me, the most important attribute that a quarterback has to have -- what he can't do without -- is toughness. I define it as in the mental toughness to play the position. Because you are the center of the game. You're the one in the locker room that everyone whispers about when things aren't going right. You're the one that has to answer the tough questions after the game and not indict somebody who ran a wrong route. You're the one that has to work with the ego of the head coach. You're the one that has to look at the game tape on Monday and know that you could've won that game if you had just played a little differently.
"You have to have that mental toughness to look at that and then go back out there Monday and Tuesday and be the leader of the team again. And some guys can't do that."
• On the difficulty in making the right choice:
"You just don't know. San Diego had Brees for four years -- in the meetings, on the practice squad, on the field -- and they didn't think he was their guy. That's how hard it is to know what that guy's going to do when it is actually his team.
"It's a very complicated dynamic. It's only an educated guess. The problem with it though is you have to keep guessing. You can't win without a franchise quarterback. I don't care what the cost is, how many times you've passed. When it's your turn to select a franchise quarterback and there's one there, you have to take it. And you know what? If it costs $50 million, tough. It's the price of [doing business as] an NFL franchise.
"The good thing for Cleveland is there are four franchise quarterbacks coming out, at least, I think."
• On the best quarterbacks projected for the 2011 draft:
"Christian Ponder [of Florida State] is on the edge. Terrelle Pryor [of Ohio State], if he runs the table, he's going to be one of those Vince Young-type guys that may make people choose him in the first round. Ryan Mallett [Arkansas], Andrew Luck (Stanford), Jake Locker [Washington] are sure-fire top 10 picks. That kid from Houston, Case Keenum, is better than Kevin Kolb in the same system. The kid from TCU [Andy Dalton] is a good prospect, too. So you've got six or eight that people are going to have to take a look at."
• On Luck:
"I think Luck is the most sure-fire bet. His background, his coaching in college, his overall ability to handle the position, looks like he's a natural, to me. A natural."
• On Mallett:
"I've watched him in games and in practice. He's too good to pass on. He has some red flags. He tends to make mistakes. But he's the show. If he doesn't play at A game ... he's the one without the chair when the music stops and it always seems to be his fault. I think you have to look past that.
"Sometimes his footwork looks bad, sometimes he throws into coverage, sometimes a bonehead play. He reminds me most of Ben Roethlisberger. Just has got big-play potential. He's got a fabulous arm. He's perfect for the north because he can cut the ball through the wind. That's why I was not a Tim Couch fan. Couch was not a great spiral thrower. He would have been better off going to the south."
• On Locker:
"I think [Washington coach Steve] Sarkisian is really helping him. I think given time, from where he started, he's got great upside. I think his game against Southern Cal showed his upside. He's gonna get better as he gets older. He was an option quarterback without a great team around him. He's still learning how to play the position."
• On comparisons of McCoy to Brees:
"I don't see that. Brees was much more of a pocket passer, he bought time ... I think the spread offense that Colt ran was kind of dink and dunk. He's got to be very careful to be not just a hitch and slant thrower. They'll squat on those and eat him up. Brees was a much more disciplined downfield thrower than Colt showed in his career. But to start at Texas, that's a guy that's used to handling the spotlight. That's not an easy place to play. And he had to follow up Vince Young, too. So he's got a lot of things going for him that a normal guy doesn't.
"It remains to be seen about McCoy. He's got to be like [Jeff] Garcia. He made it. Very effective. He's got to learn not to be just a tough-nosed player ... [but] he's got to learn the NFL game. That's a tough chore."